Friday, 27 May 2011

Post-rock, soundscapes, instrumentals, it’s all becoming a rather familiar expression. The Sound of the Mountain sling very much in this vein, attempting to create an ambiance accessible in a rocky context, as well as leaving the door open for the artisans amongst us, who might gaze on this as cinematic claptrap, and vice versa.

All things considered, this is in fact pulled off very well. There’s an edge, an atmosphere, and a vibe about its entirety, which punches beyond the usual hype surrounded by dextrous riffing, or quantum time signatures. It maintains its feeling, and most of all, it feels natural.

Problems reside in its muddy ambiguity and length. Muddy as once you’re taken out of a groove, it’s very difficult to latch onto the next one, rubbing off as poor planning on the bands behalf. It’s also too long, with chunks of tracks repeating themselves for good reason, but little effect. Certainly, there’s nothing here the band can’t fix next time around, and no doubt they’ll be back with another twisted offering – this is a safe investment for anyone earthed in post-rocks artistic mumbo jumbo. Not many debuts pan out so promising.